In order to fully test your new troops, we've made sure our represenative has gotten all the practice he needs. By now he has proven to be ready to properly represent House of the Black Knights at your tournament. May I present to you:

Lucius likes two things in life, the first one is archery and the second one is just as obvious. Although his shooting technique is questionable, seemingly he hits the target anyway.

It are festival days here in Mpya Stedor, almost overcrowded, but very lucrative for the merchants. But as it is supposed to be, the Guards have absolutely no work as everything is peacefull. Sometimes they have to calm down a certain Ogre who missed his shot by practicing and sometimes some Mitgardians are a bit loud due visiting the pub, but those are just small footnotes in a glorious page.

And so finally the trumpets are blowing in the wind, driving everybody to the Great Square in the Inner City of Mpya Stedor. Lord Damaximus (Second from left) and some of his Generals are overlooking everything from the balcony of his palace.

So in front of the Gatehouse, on the big wooden podium, the participants were standing next to eachother, being cheered by the public.

General Willinotam Lionheart, brother of the King of Historica and leader of the archers of the army of 5he Lion, himself steps on the stage. The public was quiet as if God himself stood there. After the first impression was gone, the people started rumouring, cheering, ... . Lionheart enjoyed the attention for some minutes for asking for silence. Once given, he started with explaining the rules again:
"The system:

The rounds:
In round 1: every archer with less than 50 will be eliminated.
In round 2: every archer with less than 70 will be eliminated
In round 3: every archer with less than 90 will be eliminated
In round 4: every archer with less than 110 will be eliminated
In round 5+: same as round 4 till there is one champion!

Everybody got a second chance!"

Once said, he looked around to see if everyone understood it. Luckily for him, the Archery Tournament was in Kaliphlin, so he hadn't to explain it twice.

So he could start with the moment everybody has waited for: the introduction of the Archers!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, before starting, I'll start with a small statistic:
There are 3 foreigners from Ximus, 2 of them representing the colours of Kaliphlin. Nocturnus have the lest amount of participants: 5, but the ogre can count for 2. Then follows Avalonia with 6 archers, most Elves and Hobbits! Everytime there is a festival, you see many Mitgardians. Here there is no exception: 7 Mitgardian participants!
And as it is a home-game for Kaliphlin, they have ofcourse the most: 11 brave archers will defend the colours of Kaliphlin!

Also I like to start with the Prizes:
- The title: "Champion Archer of Historica" for the best Archer of Historica! (27 participants)
- The title: "Champion Archer of Mpya Stedor" for the best Archer (30 participants)
- 50 Guild points for the Guild where the best archer from Historica comes from! (27 participants)
- Shoppin at the quarries of Bricklink at the costs of Mpya Stedor for the best archer not representing Mpya Stedor (10 Euro + sendingcosts) (26 participants)!!!

And as we are here, I will tell you how the Tournament will roll:
- Day 1: presentation
- Day 2: Elimination Round for the Elite Archers of Mpya Stedor + First 3 Rounds of the Tournament
- Day 3: Semi Final Round + Final!

so Ladies and Gentlemen, habitants of Historica:
May I present to you:

1) Sir Guntham, Knight of Mpya Stedor (Damaximus) => Kaliphlin

2) To be deceded on day 2, Champion of the Red Elite Archers of Mpya Stedor (Damaximus) => Kaliphlin

3) To be decided on day 2, Champion of the Blue Elite Archers of Mpya Stedor (Damaximus) => Kaliphlin

4) Lord Wisximus, General of the Royal Elite Archers of Ximus (Damaximus) => Ximus

Sir Glorfindel of Mitgardia, Architect Regent of Valholl, Officer of Valholl, Treasurer of the Valholl Mason's guild, Economic Titan, Knight of Valholl, Mason Teacher, Shadow Rider, Gentleman, Farmer, and Protector in the Guilds ofHistoricaHere is my website: http://brickbuilt.org
My flickr: linkJohn 14:6, Jesus answered, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Is there something to drink around here? Can we hunt peasants? Do I have to be in a room near to that loud troll that snores so much? Where are the best shops for buying armor and clothes in this town? If an arrow strays and "accidentally" hit one of the pesky avalonians, is that a plus? :)

Day 02 (10 April): Elimination Round of the Elite Archers of Mpya Stedor

And again the trumpets blow in the air. Everyone, even the grumpy old lady in the fourth district of the Outer City, dropped their work and started heading to the arena. Ready for the Elite Archer qualification rounds. Even foreigners were sitting in the red & darkblue tribunes, just to enjoy the rare atmosphere a Tournament like this breaths out.

Again General Willinotam Lionheart spoke for the crowd, starting with a bit history:

"As the wars are finally over in the continent where Lord Damaximus was born, his younger brother, King Mattiximus sent some of his 2 Elite Archer Groups to Historica to defend Mpya Stedor.

When they arrived, the citizens of Mpya Stedor were absolutely stunned by their looks. So noble and elegant, but still fearsome. So Lord Damaximus decided to match their skills with the rest of Historica.

Ladies and Gentlemen: 10 archers of the Red Elite Archers and 10 archers of the Blue Elite Archers will show their skills to you. The best one of each group will represent Mpya Stedor in the Tournament!

Before presenting, some more about their names:
In the Guild of Ximus, it is an unwritten rule that noblemen wear the city they come from as last name. As every Elite Archer is knighted, they all have their homecity as last name!

Ladies and gentlemen, the first round will start soon. In contradiction to the Tournament itself is the minimum number of points already 70 instead of 50. Every archer has 2 chances.

Let's start with the Red Elites!

note: text and remarks of the shots is for the tournament itself, here you will only see how it worksx/y = total points, with x = first number and y = second number. For the calculation see previous post of me or the first post of this Tournament

The crowd goes crazy, the final 5 have some minutes to rest some. Casanova Styros goes to some girls and disappears from the scene for a few minutes. Guan Isros runs to the temple to pray for strength. Olaf Stedor stands in front of the target, just staring at it. The others just drink some juice, being stressed like crazy.

General Lionheart calls the finalists back at the arena, even the Mitgardian with the coldest heart can feel the nervosity.

"Ladies and gentlemen, are we ready for the finals?"

Retorical question, even if they weren't ready, the final would start...

Final Round Red & Blue Elites : round after round till someone has 110 points. 2 winners: one of the Reds and one of the Blues

1.Olaf Stedor:
Olaf looks to his opponents, smiles and waves to someone in the crowd. Suddenly he took his arrow, put it on the bow, aims a little and then he shoots... Right in the bulls-eye (99)!!! The eyes are all fixed on the jury. Slowly they put the number 23 in the air. 23 seconds!!! => 140!Casanova Styros:he lost his focus, tried to aim but it didn't worked. Still stunned by the result of Olaf Stedor. 25/84 => 10Maner Tradon:
Same story here, but a bit faster. Still a bad shot: 44/50 => 45Guan Isros:
A bit more relaxed already he aims... Shoots... And: 64/41 => 70. Not bad, but it will depend on the last one:Bastian Efandor:
Bastian Efandor, champion of Efandor, known for it's excellent archers. Most of them still are in the Elite Squad in Ximus. No stress at all, also a very good first 2 rounds. He aims, wait a bit and shoot. Bulls-Eye! 98/70 => 110.

The crowd is cheering, the last 2 participants for tomorrow are known!

Ha this tournament is coming along quite nicely! I'm looking forward to see who is going to amaze the crowd tomorow and I hope Valter is not going to be a disgrace for the Mitgardian Elite Archers. If he fails tomorow, we may have to fail him.

Virgil Faust, Captain of the Northern Rangersfrom MitgardiaMember of the Cold Circle

Is there something to drink around here? Can we hunt peasants? Do I have to be in a room near to that loud troll that snores so much? Where are the best shops for buying armor and clothes in this town? If an arrow strays and "accidentally" hit one of the pesky avalonians, is that a plus? :)

Wow! What an exciting first day! Congrats to Olaf and Bastian, that was some amazing archery. I still can't believe those two bulls-eyes in the last round, at that distance. I have to say, Bastian's bulls-eye cost me some gold, as I bet against there being two bulls-eyes like that.

The pre-tournament show was very entertaining; I don't think I've ever seen the native Ximus dances, and the dragon tamers were most impressive. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. I only hope there's enough ale in the city to keep the Mitgardians happy for the entire duration of the tournament. They appear to be going through barrels and kegs of ale like crazy!

And I must say, Mpya Stedor is really decked out nicely for the tournament. The missus has been practicing quite a bit over the past day or two, so I've been taking in the sights with one of my factors, Growlfarghh the werewolf. He's really enjoyed the meat markets in the central bazaar. I especially liked the new palace, and have been admiring the city walls. Messahmuk's walls are quite decrepit these days, and the Council has been dithering of late on repairing them. I'll have to report back to them on the strength and design of these walls. The harbor also is very nice and quite extensive; very well situated for trade. Thanks for all the hospitality!

Is there something to drink around here? Can we hunt peasants? Do I have to be in a room near to that loud troll that snores so much? Where are the best shops for buying armor and clothes in this town? If an arrow strays and "accidentally" hit one of the pesky avalonians, is that a plus? :)

There is of course something to drink here, or maybe was (more about that later) Well, maybe we can set some slaves free who may be hunted down we don't have here many peasants as outside the city walls there is only desert and mountains you still can sleep in a ship in the great bay inside the city Armor and clothes can be best bought in the Luxury District where you also can buy our famous gilded items and gems, it are festival sales, customers only pay 10% more than normal Considering where it lands, that can be a plus but also more on that later

Medic!!!, on 10 April 2012 - 05:46 PM, said:

I would enter but it seems the parts have not yet arrived and nor have I been early enough.

Too bad :( but feel welcome to enjoy the Tournament, great brother from our beloved Guild of Kaliphlin

Blaze, on 10 April 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

Ha this tournament is coming along quite nicely! I'm looking forward to see who is going to amaze the crowd tomorow and I hope Valter is not going to be a disgrace for the Mitgardian Elite Archers. If he fails tomorow, we may have to fail him.

We got some problems with Willinotam Lionheart. He enjoys to much the attention the crowd gives him and as we don't want to set up his brother, King of Historica, we fear he will anounce everything But that's less work for me (Lord Damaximus)

Jareth, on 10 April 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

Oi! Hogs-Eye not snore!

Hogs-Eye provide "white Noise" to help you rest!

To be honest, some people thought the musician were trying a new kind of music in the night. It was a bit a difficult situation when we explained to them all musicians were sleeping without blaming the poor loud Ogre

NiceMarmot, on 10 April 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

Wow! What an exciting first day! Congrats to Olaf and Bastian, that was some amazing archery. I still can't believe those two bulls-eyes in the last round, at that distance. I have to say, Bastian's bulls-eye cost me some gold, as I bet against there being two bulls-eyes like that.

The pre-tournament show was very entertaining; I don't think I've ever seen the native Ximus dances, and the dragon tamers were most impressive. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. I only hope there's enough ale in the city to keep the Mitgardians happy for the entire duration of the tournament. They appear to be going through barrels and kegs of ale like crazy!

And I must say, Mpya Stedor is really decked out nicely for the tournament. The missus has been practicing quite a bit over the past day or two, so I've been taking in the sights with one of my factors, Growlfarghh the werewolf. He's really enjoyed the meat markets in the central bazaar. I especially liked the new palace, and have been admiring the city walls. Messahmuk's walls are quite decrepit these days, and the Council has been dithering of late on repairing them. I'll have to report back to them on the strength and design of these walls. The harbor also is very nice and quite extensive; very well situated for trade. Thanks for all the hospitality!

Most traders from Ximus made a fortune due the bettings as they know the skills of each archer. But the perfect bulls-eye in 23 seconds of Olaf even surprised the native Ximians

We got really nice girls there in Ximus, to be honest, they are what I miss the most from my homelands Lucky for me, I got some of them swimming in my palace The folklore dances there are indeed a total cultureshock comparing to the dances here in Historica. You can't compare them with each other, total different styles and rhytms But if you enjoyed them, feel free to go to the workshops in the harbor to learn the dance moves!

As Mpya Stedor is a new city, the walls are brand new, so it is a pleasure for the eye to look at. We hope to keep them like that

Growlfarghh has to meet Haarloos, our Werewolf Embassador who is in the city with some other werewolves who were invited. He knows all the dark pubs in the Outer City where (rumours says) you can drink blood ale

Quote

Day 03 (11 April): The day after...

So Olaf Stedor and Bastian Efandor were the ones to represent the Elite Archers of Mpya Stedor. Both thx to a perfect Bulls-eye, without aiming for an eternity! The Ximians went wild as they are a very proud people. Even before Olaf & Bastian reached the stage, the first barrels of beer were already open. The signal for the Mitgardians to start with the hobby they got most in common: drinking.

Olaf & Bastian joined the other participants, hoping they could prepare the next day. Well, the participants would never reach the practicing area. It were Mitgardians Jitran and William Throw who couldn't resist the cups full of ale passing around in the street. Whisximus and Drinian, both respected warlords in their homecities, tried to stop them, only to find themself minutes later cheering to the girls with a good beer in their hand. The other participants looked to each other, smiled and hit the pubs and drinktents.

Lord Damaximus walked around the city, looking to everybody partying. Even Avalonians and Nocturnians were sitting next together, singing ballads completely out of rhytm. Lord Damaximus laughed when he saw some Drow constantly giving beer to a few Avalonians while they were telling all the dirty stuff of their Guild.
He dismissed his knights, so they could enjoy it too, knowing not much could go wrong tonight.

The night was young and it would look like it will never end...

The next morning, the sun came up out of the sea. The white buildings were shining and the golden artwork was a pain in the eyes for the many people still celebrating on the streets.

Lord Damaximus, just like everyone else he still hadn't saw his bed, went to the Gatehouse, talked with the jury and they quickly decided to move everything a day on, making this day a day were the participants could sleep and practice before starting the first rounds tomorrow. Some childs played for messenger and told the message to everybody they saw on the streets and in the pubs. A big "houraaaay!!" could be heard even outside the city as this meant that the festival would last a day longer.

Some traders jumped in their small vessels and set sail to the neighbouring cities to buy more ale and food.

So ladies and gentlemen, today was a day to recover strenghts and sleep, tomorrow the Tournament will continue!

note: now the truth, I partied last night myself and didn't found the motivation to do much today except from laying in my bed

Many thanks to our gracious host Lord DaMaximus for hosting this magnificent tournament in such a beautiful city. In splendour and excitement, this contest begins to rival the legendary Valentine Gladiator games. So much drama already, and it hasn`t even started in earnest yet!

Duc LeStrange, Special Envoy of the Petraea General Trading Company, of the Kaliphlin Guild.
We work for Peace and Prosperity through Commerce.

Tooooooooooooooo...(some more o's)...oooot! The blast of the trumpets are heard once again all over the city. All visitors and citizens hurried to the arena, excited that finally the first round will start. Musicians all over the city start playing encouraging music instead of happy ballads. At the arena, General Willinotam Lionheart welcomes the crowd. Bread is being throwed into the public, small Guildflags being sold to the supporters. This first round is maybe even the most important one, as in this round, half of the archers will be eliminated and most of them hope to survive the first round, just for the honour.

Willinotam looks to the crowd and starts speaking, loud and clear:

"Ladies & Gentlemen, here we are, at day 4 of the tournament and the day the first round finally starts!

After discussing with Lord Damaximus and the jury, the first round will be slight different! The 30 archers will have each 3 tries to score as many points possible. The best 15 will go further to the next round! As it is quite difficult to see them all shooting at the same time, they will be divided in 6 groups of 5 participants.
But, if an archers hits more than 100, he is qualified pronto and doesn't have to do the other tries!

so my noble public, enjoy the tournament! And good luck to the archers as well!"

note: from now on off, the story is told through the eyes of one of the participants.

We start with the first try now:

First Group:

The archers are standing next to each other, bow beside them, arrow together with the other arrows...
The signal goes... Olaf Stedor, somewhat stressed, was looking for the right arrow, when finally found one and looking to the target he saw there was already an arrow just missed the bulls-eye! He looks to the left, only to see Sir Guntham with an open mouth. Looking to the right he sees that Bastian already shoot, but his arrow hit the 4th circle. Looking to Lord Whisximus his face, Olaf Stedor could only conclude you have to be named William to be a champion... Olaf Stedor sighs before shooting. Not bad, 4th circle as well, but luckily for him there are 2 more tries!

Freydir Broadchest was sweating. Here she finally was, but a much too stressed she fears. The jury gives the signal and she tooks the arrow and her bow. While aiming she sees 2 arrows flying to the target. The one of William Harkenshire hits it first, the same time as the William in the first group, but unlike him, it's only in the 5th circle. Hoka Netra had more luck she discovered, only 5 seconds after William, his arrow hit the 2nd circle. That must be 125 points for him she calculated quickly! Allright girl, relax! She put the arrow on her bow, but she lost the grip and took an arrow to the knee... Where is the Medic here?

Kucuk Kartal looks to his neighbour, Sir Hogs-Eye and hopes he will do it well as the ogre is somewhat notorious for his madness when he missed the target. The signal goes and still looking to Hogs-Eye he sees that the first guy already shoot his arrow. Wow that was fast, but unlucky for the Mitgardian, the arrow just missed the target. While aiming he suddenly feels an earthquake. Looking stunned around, he discovers that the arrow Hogs-Eye was not that close to the bulls-eye as the ogre hoped, so he started jumping around. Megablocks...
Kucuk

Ariana Thunderbow is feeling absolutely good today. In practicing she was constantly hitting the bulls-eye. No wonder she was the topfavorite for those who bet on the tournament. The signal goes and she takes her time, looks to the target and shoots. Just at the same time as Ylda. The 2 arrows are racing to the target and the one of Ariana hits it first, just before the one of Ylda. But Ariana jumped much higher for joy as her arrow hit the Bulls-eye, more specific, perfect the middle of the bulls-eye!

The signal goes, Kutanii Arfelan aims and shoot, fourth circle, megablocks, that could be better... He looks to his opponents, especially to Jitran and C. Michael, both arrows are next to eachother flying to the target and they land almost in the same square centimeter! Nice! Everybody is looking now to Vlan, who struggled a bit with his bow. Finally he shoots... Looks like Vlan is an excellent hunter: poor bird who flew over the arena, now it's dead.

Kathryn Flagg is tired, yesterday she had to go to a quick mission for her brother. Luckily there was a day off, but still, it was late before she returned...
Well hopefully she will survive this round, then she can go to bed early for the finals.
She takes here time to aim, sees the arrow of Lucius Fortunatus hit the Bulls-eye and shoot herself. Fourth circle, not so good...

Sir Guntham still was angry for his previous shot, this time better he thinks. The signal goes off, he took the arrow, aims and shoot... Megablocks, 4th circle, a bit better, but still not as wanted, but luckily this time he gots the timebonus of 50 points! Looking to the 2 Elite Archers, he smiles, they completely missed the target...

Waisur Iarel looks to Freydir, and admires her strong character. Hit by an arrow the first round, she stands there again now. She is a real example was the last thing he thought before shooting his arrow. A real example it looks like as his arrow finishes 2 seconds after her in the same circle: circle 2! They looked to eachother and smiled, both they were sure of the next round!

Thor Olafson was still wondering how it was possible he shot his arrow so quickly in the first try... This time better he thinks. But this time, he will take his time he says loud. Naraoug his neighbour loughs and moments after the signal Thor sees that Naraoug already lost shoot his arrow. A bit amazed, Thor looks to the arrow, but is completely stunned when he sees it hits perfectly the bulls-eye! Still stunned, he hears a loud "muaargh" and while wondering whose arrow hit the second circle, he sees the Hogs-Eye dancing around. "Allright, time for me" he says loud and he shoots. Bulls-eye!

Again, already the 10th time today, a bunch of participants stand next to eachother, staring to the target. One of them, Leo Aragon, as focused as at the first try. But this time, he says to hisself, I'll be faster. The signal goes, he takes the arrow, put it on the bow and shoot without looking. This is his moment to show the world he is one of the best archers of Historica he thought. Some seconds later, the crowd goes crazy: bulls-eye! Leo smiles, but then looked to Ibrahim and wondered what's wrong with that guy today? In practicing he was one of the best.

Vlan still wonders how he could have missed the first try. They had to look for half an hour to find his arrow back.
That's not how I shoot in my hometown, he thinks. He takes some sand of the ground and let it fall through his hands while staring to the target as if he tried to burn it down. The signal goes. Vlan takes his arrow, aims and shoots, just after Jitran. But unlike him, no bulls-eye but the second circle. Making a quick calculation, he realise he has 95 and not the 100. Let's hope there won't be 15 participants with 100 points...

Sergeant F.Chu was a bit ashamed of himself. How could he forget there is a maximum time limit for aiming! He could kick himself. While thinking, the signal goes. And almost automically he takes the arrow and aims. This time I'll be faster, was the last thing he thought before shooting. While looking to his flying arrow, he notice one of the 2 nice ladies dancing while the other one yawning and cursing everything that is not so nice to say. Looking to the target again, he smiles. Oh yes, he is going to the finals!

"Ladies and gentlemen, again there is a break now, go to the bar, enjoy your food and drinks and we will be back again soon for the last 17 participants! Some of them will have to hope nobody will reach the 100 points again! Small addition, if there are for example 5 participants with 100 points, all 5 will go to the finals!"